With Difference
by Simply Kelp
Summary: Luna is captured, and questioned by Voldemort. People were normally mad after he finished with them, not before.
1. Chapter 1

Title: With Difference  
Author: Simply Kelp  
Rating: pg-13  
Pairing: none  
Summary: Luna is captured, and questioned by Voldemort. People were normally mad after he finished with them, not before. One-shot.  
Note: I wrote this a while ago, and am just getting around to posting it... The idea seemed better in my head. I might make some changes to it, and post it as another chapter, just so you won't be surprised... I got the idea while reading Hamlet because Luna kind of reminds me of crazy!Ophelia

---

Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be.

---

It had been days, perhaps even weeks, since Luna had been captured. She was taken to an overlarge house- Malfoy Manor?- where she was locked in a damp, ancient-looking prison.

The stone bricks formed a pattern that could not truly be admired through the sliver of light entering the room from a crevice where the ceiling, and wall did not quite meet. Luna, though, had tried.

She was not chained, though her company, several skeletons which were likely very old, was. There restraints jingled in a sad melody that only one so unique as Luna could fully appreciate. Had she been any other, Luna would have been horrified of their ghastly appearance. As herself, however, she was only troubled that her companions had suffered from the fate which was assured to meet her also.

Where the floor was uneven, what could most politely be termed soup gathered in stinking puddles. It was raining outside. Drops of fresh water found their way in through the small crevice to collect with the decay.

Currently, Luna was lying on the floor, her protuberant eyes misted over with exhaustion. Tangled in her hair was a wreath of dandelions; the same she wore before being abducted. The blossoms were long withered, but the knowledge of their existence did help to keep Luna from giving up just yet. Her lips parted in an otherworldly smile, as if she was seeing something beyond her dark prison.

The door opened, but Luna did not seem to notice. A tall, thin figure walked into the room to stare down at the small girl. At her visitor's arrival, Luna's lips began moving at a feverish pace, whispering long forgotten words.

"Are you enjoying your stay?" the high, cold voice that Luna knew had come from the tall figure- Voldemort- asked. The question was sarcastic- biting-, but Luna didn't seem to notice.

Without changing expression, a whisper escaped past her lips. "It is certainly very damp; I would that I were something more of a fish."

Voldemort was taken aback by this response. Anger he understood, despair he had seen, but _this_- she sounded as if she were unperturbed. "Do you know why you are here?" It was a simple question, one that even this odd creature could not mistake.

"I expect I have done something wrong," Luna replied politely. She frowned somewhat. "Though I can't quite recall what it was."

"I grow weary of your nonsense, little one," Voldemort said. His blood was boiling. How could a person be so naïve? He drew a wand from within his robes. Not his wand, for he wouldn't deign to use such a powerful weapon against something so pathetic as a small girl. He pointed the wand at Luna, and roared "_Crucio._"

Luna's eyes snapped shut, and her lips parted. Her limbs ever so slightly trembled, but she did not provide the response that he hoped for. There were no screams, no cries, no spasms of pain. Indeed one would have merely thought she was having an unpleasant dream.

Voldemort let his wand lower. Her eyes remained closed, though her lips began miming unintelligible phrases again. "Where is the Order of the Phoenix?"

Luna's eyes opened as suddenly as they had closed. She looked at the figure in front of her as if not fully seeing him- as if seeing through him. "_Charms, spells, and phoenix tears, cannot erase our fears,_" she faintly sang.

"Do you know what I have done to those far more powerful than you could ever be?" he asked. "You have no idea the power which I have at my command." If she would not give him the answers he wanted, Voldemort decided, he would take them. He raised his wand again. "_Legilimens._"

_Though Voldemort was inside a building of some sorts, there was a thick fog encircling him. It seemed to choke him. He could barely detect his surroundings. He squinted. A hall. Doors on either side. Rows of doors. He reached toward his left, feeling for a handle. It was locked. He followed the wall forward, groping for an unseen entrance. But every door he tried was locked. _

Voldemort, frustrated, lowered his wand. He looked toward Luna. She was sitting now, her legs crossed Indian-style, making her look even more childlike. Several of the withered dandelions had been removed from her hair, and she was examining them as if they were something extraordinary. 

She looked up at Voldemort, and offered him a flower. "There's rue for you," she said merrily, "And here's some for me." When Voldemort would not accept her gift, Luna let the dead flowers fall to the cold, stone floor, her eyes downcast. "O, we must wear our rue with a difference."

"I am the most powerful wizard that has ever been," Voldemort seethed. Really he should not be letting so small a thing get him so excited. "I regret nothing."

Luna smiled knowingly. "You surely must regret something," she chimed. "Father says it is what makes us human." Father-? Human-? She couldn't know, could she? No, he was being irrational. She had just used those awful words by chance, he assured himself.

"Don't you know, silly girl," he asked, voice becoming even colder. "I am not human. I will not die."

Luna smiled. "Everything must die," she whispered, picking up her flowers. Voldemort watched her slowly pluck the petals off, her eyes unblinking as each fluttered to the ground. "There's nothing frightening about death- it is just like sleeping. Mum told me. She says it's very exciting behind the veil." Luna paused. "It would be awfully lonely to live forever."

Voldemort stared down at the girl, the folds of skin where his eyebrows should have been knitted together. People were normally mad after he had finished with them- not before.

"But," Luna added suddenly. "I know why you want to live forever," she said knowledgeably. Voldemort waited, scolding himself for listening to her so attentively. "You don't want to face them: you think they might not forgi-"

"_Enough!_" Voldemort barked. "Let's see how willing you are in another week." He walked to the door, and reached for the handle. It was locked. Damn. "_Alohomora._" He left, Luna humming contentedly to herself.

---

Hamlet IV.v.42-3

Hamlet IV.v.181-3


	2. Chapter 2

Title: With Difference  
Author: Simply Kelp  
Rating: pg-13  
Pairing: none  
Summary: Luna is captured, and questioned by Voldemort. People were normally mad after he finished with them, not before. One-shot.  
Note: I decided to lengthen it. I have at least one more idea for this, but am notoriously bad about writing longer stories. I have an awful fear of commitment (at least when it comes to writing), but I'll try to do more.

---

It had been exactly one week since Voldemort had questioned the little creature living- or more correctly, dying- in the Malfoy dungeon. He had not told anyone how much his visit had bothered him. He wasn't frightened, but the thought of the little person lying in the stinking puddles of rotting flesh, looking so…

She had barely even responded, and certainly had not made an effort to plead for her life. HE was used to getting what he wanted, and after several days of solitary confinement, most people were willing to give him just that. He was nervous as to what the thing would say to him if he visited it again, so instead, he sent Bellatrix. He knew how persuasive she could be.

---

Luna fancied that an eternity had past from the time that Voldemort left until now. She had grown too weak to move, it was as if her brain were trapped, fully functioning- or mostly functioning- in her lifeless body. Her lips were dry, and cracked. Occasionally, if she tried to speak, they would bleed. Although not entirely fond of the copper taste, she would lick her lips to get some sustenance. She hadn't eaten since being imprisoned.

The door to her prison creaked open. She tried to lift her head to see who was coming- Voldemort?- but it would not obey. The steps sounded different, and she knew it was not her previous visitor. She had once fancied herself a master of reading steps. She would hide in the library, and listen to people walk by, while trying to guess who they were. It was something to distract her from the loneliness.

These steps sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place them. They were loud, and self-assured; whoever owned them was definitely not worried about anything. "Well," a high, cold voice said. It was female, and sounded like a perfect counterpart to Voldemort's voice. "I haven't seen you since the incident at the Ministry," it said.

Ministry? Luna thought. What was a Ministry? Her brain seemed to be having troubles sorting out the words. The woman came closer to where Luna could see her looming frame above. The woman looked very familiar- but maybe it was her resemblance to a skeleton that she recognised. She had big, black eyes, a sunken face, and long dark hair. Luna was sure that, if she were in a better state, she would know the woman's name. It bothered her.

"The Dark Lord," the woman continued, "Sent me to sort you out. It seems his anger at me because of you, and your bratty friends has passed." Luna was not entirely sure what the woman was talking about, but she had the flash of an idead. A hall of little, glass orbs, and the woman's shrieking face.

"Where is Harry Potter?" the woman yelled. Harry! Did she know a Harry? Was he the reason the woman was so angry?

Luna tried to speak, but only her lips moved; no sound came out. Maybe the woman could read lips, Luna would try harder to speak. _Who is Harry?_ she mouthed. The woman didn't' seem to notice. She was instead smiling, almost evilly, watching Luna like a hawk about to devour it's prey.

The woman pulled a long stick- a wand?- out of her sleeve, and pointed it at Luna. "Where is Harry Potter?" she asked again. When Luna did not answer, an evil glint appeared in her eye. "You force me to do something I really don't want to do," Luna could tell she was mocking. "_Crucio!_"

Luna felt as though her whole body was tingling. It was sort of an improvement from previously. Before she coul not feel her body at all. The tingling turned into a burning, but Luna was too weak to react. Instead she stared up at the woman, her protuberant eyes misted over.

The woman screamed, and lowered her wand. She looked unnerved. Part of Luna wondered what had bothered the woman so much. She looked confused, and uncertain, like she had discovered all she knew was false. The woman raised her want again. "_Crucio!_" she shrieked, sounding even more angry than before.

Luna's mind told her to do something. She didn't have a wand, so she couldn't defend herself. Or could she? Maybe if she thought hard enough. _Protego_, the last shreds of conciousness screamed. It didn't work, the curse still hit her. With the image of the woman's angry face still reverberating in her head, Luna passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: With Difference  
Author: Simply Kelp  
Rating: pg-13  
Pairing: none  
Summary: Luna is captured, and questioned by Voldemort. People were normally mad after he finished with them, not before.  
A/N: It's been a very long time... Is anyone still going to look at this? I dunno... I feel just dreadful that I made you wait so very long! Due to a cheesecake-induced spurt of inspiration, I have began looking through my old, unfinished stuff. I don't know if I _will_ finish this, but I will do my very best.

---

When Luna woke, she heard beeping. The noise was soothing; it nearly lulled her back to sleep. The air was different; clean. She was no longer in the cell, of that she was certain. She opened her eyes, and was met with blinding white light. Her eyes, unconsciously snapped shut.

Was she dead? This place, was it the Place Beyond the Veil? She had expected it to be a little more exciting. Though, if she tried, she could make the beeping noise a little exciting. It was changing a bit- getting faster. It was almost like a heartbeat. Maybe people behind the veil had beeping things for hearts. Maybe there was a person with her right now; her mother?

She tried to talk to the person, but her throat was dry. Maybe if she opened her eyes again, she could see them. She cracked her eyes open, and let them- little, by little- adjust to the blinding light. She did not see any other people in the room. It was small, and white. She was on a bed. There was a window to her right, where she could see a bit of a tree. Next to the bed was a large machine; that was where the beeping came from.

She heard footsteps coming from outside the door. Someone was coming! The doorknob turned. She watched excitedly. Perhaps something had held them up, she knew there had to be someone to introduce her to the Place Beyond the Veil. She hoped it was her mother, though she would settle for Newt Scamander.

A man dressed in a white robe, and carried a clipboard opened the door. He was not Newt Scamander. He walked to the machine, and looked at the jumping lines on the screen. After a moment, he turned around to look at Luna.

"O, you're up," he said. His voice was deep. "We hadn't expected you to be awake for a few more days." Luna opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. Seeing her actions, the man continued, "You don't need to say anything right now; there's time for that later."

Luna nodded, and let her head rest back on the pillow. She did not hear the crunching of dandelions as she did such. Had they taken her dandelions when the entered the veil? She tried to move her hands up to check, but they felt as if they were filled with lead. She looked down at them, only to notice that they had taken her clothes as well. She was now wearing a blue muslin gown. Why did she not have a white robe? Perhaps one only got a white robe if one was a resident in the veil long enough.

The man smiled at her, and began fiddling with the machine again. "I will be back in a little while to check on you," he said. "In the meantime, get some rest."

Luna allowed her eyes to close. She was really quite tired, and she would have to be well-rested for their tour of the Place Beyond the Veil.

---

The man was there when Luna woke again. This time, she remembered to open her eyes slowly, and was not almost blinded. The man was looking at the machine. She wondered what it was telling him. "Wha-?" she managed, but her throat was too dry to say any more.

The man turned around, and began looking her over. He shined a light down her mouth, and in her ears. "You're almost ready to go. We'd just like for you to stay overnight. We didn't…" the man continued talking, but Luna was no longer paying attention. 'Ready to go,' 'stay overnight'- had she done something wrong? Were they making her leave the veil? She must have looked distressed, because the man gave her a reassuring smile. "It will be okay," he told her.

His voice made her want to believe him. Maybe she had misunderstood. Yes, that was it. She misunderstood: she had to stay in the room tonight, and tomorrow they would go on their tour of the rest of the Place Beyond the Veil.

"We didn't find any identification on you; is there anyone we can contact?" the man asked. "Do you remember anything before you came here?"

Her memory was fine; she wondered why he asked her about it. Could people behind the veil not look into each other's minds like she always thought they could? And as for anyone to contact, did he mean to get her a visitor for tonight? She would love to see her mother again.

"M-m-my" she whispered. She had not meant to whisper, but her voice must have been acting particularly lazy. "M-mum, S-S-Sel-e-e-ene L-Love-g-good." The man nodded, said a few more things- which Luna did not fully pay attention to-, and left. She would see her mum again!

She spent the few minutes, or hours- she still could not properly grasp time since her encounter with Voldemort- lying anxiously in her bed, waiting. She looked out the window often, hoping they would come by broom so that she could see them. The man came back; he was alone. Maybe her mum had to wait for him to talk to the machine again before she could come in? He again went to the machine, and looked at the jumping line. She wondered what kind of language it was.

He walked back over to Luna's bed. "We looked up Selene Lovegood," he said. He looked sad. Could he not find her? "She died seven years ago," he continued. "We found records saying that she was married to a Xenophilius Lovegood, but have been unable to find him."

Luna frowned. Why would they look for her dad? He was not dead yet? "Y-you won't," she said simply; her voice was coming back. The man gave her a confused look, so she clarified. "He's not dead yet."

"I'm sorry?" the man asked.

"He isn't here yet; he hasn't died." For being behind the veil, the man sure was dense.

"You're still alive; you do know that, right?" he asked. She shook her head. She was not alive; she couldn't be alive. "You were found in an alleyway. A good Samaritan brought you in. You were malnourished, and had some internal bleeding, but we saved you. You're still alive." The man was talking nonsense now. Surely Luna couldn't still be alive! She was going to see her mum again. She was waiting just outside the door. She was dead! With that thought, Luna passed out.

---

If anyone has any suggestions for what to happen, I would love to hear them. I kind of have a vague idea of where it could go, but I am not entirely sure. Thanks for reading!


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